


Yugen

by PenguinKiwis



Series: Beautiful Words, Beautiful People [4]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Appreciating life, Aquariums, Family, Fluff, Fox is part of the Pack Now, Gender Identity, Good Parent Plo Koon, Kel Dor Culture, Kel Dor society, M/M, Nonbinary Character, Order 66 Didn't Happen (Star Wars), Parental Plo Koon, Plo Koon is the Gender Dad™, Post-War, Trans Female Character, Trans Wooley, WHALE SHARKS, gender fluid characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-19 07:20:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29871138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PenguinKiwis/pseuds/PenguinKiwis
Summary: (N.) An awareness of the universe that triggers feelings too deep and mysterious for wordsThe galaxy is wide and awe-inspiring. Now that the War is over, Rex can take time to enjoy it and learn a bit as well.
Relationships: Kit Fisto/Plo Koon, Plo Koon & CT-7567 | Rex
Series: Beautiful Words, Beautiful People [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2194038
Kudos: 30





	Yugen

**Author's Note:**

> this one doesn’t have as much gender conversation but like. there is some there. but mostly just appreciating the value of life and Rex learning about things and being relaxed
> 
> inspired by [This Post](https://rustic-space-fiddle.tumblr.com/post/615979047155040256/another-one-inspired-by-the-delightful-cptnrex)

It was safe to say that Rex had no idea why he was where he was at the moment.

Standing behind Ahsoka as she pressed her face against the transparisteel of a tank, gazing at the brightly colored fish that swam too and fro with Master Bultar Swan next to her while Fox and Wolffe read through some sort of flimsi pamphlet as they walked down another hall, the recently-freed Boba on Wolffe’s shoulders. Fordo and two of his fellow ARCs— Wise, with her hair tied back into a short pony-tail and Pip with their hair done up similarly— were on the far end of the room, looking at some sort of eel-like creature.

Rex had never been to an Aquarium before, he didn’t even know those _existed_ when General— no— Master Fisto had explained what they were on the way over. The War hadn’t allowed for any of them to really do any of those “high-class leisure activities”— as Fox had put it when he had asked the redheaded trooper if _he_ knew what an aquarium was.

Still, it was... interesting, Rex supposed, as Boost and Sinker both ran past, pulling Wooley behind them as she gazed around in bewilderment and awe. Rex was currently standing in a large, circular room with halls branching off to different areas, he supposed. In the center was a large tank full of a fake reef and all sorts of fish, which was what Ahsoka was looking at now, with Master Swan.

In truth, Rex knew next to nothing about the dark-haired Jedi, and he also wasn’t super familiar with Master Plo Koon and Master Kit Fisto— who had been the ones to bring them all here in the first place.

Speaking of...

Rex turned as Master Koon stepped up next to him.

“Enjoying yourself, so far, Rex?” Master Koon asked, hands folded and hidden within his sleeves. Rex shrugged.

“It’s nice,” he admitted, “But, sir, I’m quite confused on why exactly I’m here.” 

The Kel Dor hummed, inclining his head just a bit before he responded. “It _does_ seem like a puzzle, doesn’t it?” he mused, and Rex noticed his tusks flexing just slightly through his mask. “Aside from matters of the War, neither you nor I have had much interaction."

“I didn’t know you knew the Muunilinst 10, either, sir," he added and Master Koon chuckled. 

“Voolvif knows them, they had offered him the position of their General a few weeks after he joined the 104th,” he told him, “But Voolvif declined. Either way, we have all talked more than once. Fordo was the one who came to me about Wise and Pip, after all.”

Rex nodded slowly. 

It had started out as a secret among the _Vode_ , about the so-called defected Clones who didn’t see themselves as _brothers_. But no one was sure _what_ to do about it. There had been a rumor that a handful of _vode_ in the 104th had gotten riled when someone had called another ‘he’ but no one paid much attention to it.

Then Fox came back from the Senators’ Gala, usually tired eyes bright with determination. And like a wildfire through hushed whispers and encoded messages, the facts spread through the GAR. High General Plo Koon could answer any questions, could help you if you needed it, and he wouldn't think anything different of you— wouldn't send you to be Decommissioned.

Wooley had been the first to go to the General, and come back with a lighter walk in _her_ step, according to Cody.

The rumor was that Wise had been next, revealing the reason why Fordo was so viciously protective of the Muunilinst 10's second in commands.

A slip in the cloning process had given the rather lithe ARC two x-chromosomes instead of the standard XY that the rest of them had— and she had been set to be decommissioned at the beginning. Fordo had saved her himself, the rather frightening Alpha and ARC Trooper making sure the Kaminoans trained her like all the rest before bringing her into what would become the Muunilinst 10.

After Wise had been Pip, their fluidity coming to light and even though Wooley was accepted without a question— she was 212 after all— both Wise and Pip had been met with some slight confusion. And Fordo had been near-feral the first and only time someone had suggested that his two seconds were anything other than exemplary— after all, who had it been to push back the Butcher of Hypori and rescue Ki-Adi Mundi, Shaak Ti, and Aayla Secura?

Still, slowly, more and more of the _vode_ were shifting around. Slowly transferring to the 104th, and in return, some of the 104th would switch to the other battalions.

But Rex hadn’t known much about that. He and Cody had conversed before talking to Wolffe, before they began to sign off on transfer papers, making up excuses to their Generals because the _vode_ came _first_ no matter what. But that was the most he was involved with it.

He didn’t know much about General Koon aside from what was general knowledge back then and he still didn’t— aside from the fact that he happened to know the Muunilinst 10, which Rex just learned.

“It’s nice to see Wooley having fun,” Rex chose to say in response and Master Koon nodded.

“She’s much brighter now that the war is over,” he agreed as Master Swan and Ahsoka moved to another tank within the large room. “Have you gone around and seen everything, yet? I brought Ahsoka here once before with her Crèche group before the War, and Bultar during her Padawanship with me— and Kit has brought all of his Padawans to various aquariums as well. This would be the first time for you and your brothers, correct?”

Rex shifted, glancing around a bit. “I’m alright,” he told the Jedi. “You know, with just following Ahsoka around.”

The Kel Dor gave him a look before he looked back over to where the two other Jedi were. He seemed to be thinking before he gently placed a hand on Rex’s shoulder. “Walk with me?”

“Sure, sir,” he said with a shrug before he fell in step with the tall Kel Dor as he walked out of the main chamber. Rex glanced around, seeing a few tanks full of other fish in the walls, blinking. There was one with some sort of furry animal swimming around in it and Rex almost didn’t notice Master Koon’s gait slowing to match with his instead of the other way around. 

“Are all these animals from this planet?” he asked after a moment and Master Koon hummed, the noise reverberating in the mostly empty hall.

“Not all of them,” he told him, “A good majority were rescued from a now dying planet on the very edge of the galaxy.”

Rex was about to respond before the two of them stepped out into another large room, bathed in blue light and his breath was taken away suddenly.

The entire wall was taken up by the largest tank he had ever seen, a large reef replication covering the rocks as tons of fish and other sea creatures swam through the it. It looked like he had been plunged right into the clearest sea he had ever seen, the blue expanse looking like it was going on forever and ever and he had begun to walk before he realized it— walking down from the tiered flooring until he was right in front of the transparisteel.

Slowly, Rex placed a hand against the transparisteel, gazing down. The floor fell away inside the tank, going deeper and he could see flickers of brightly colored fish down there as well. 

A reptilian animal swam past, with four flippers, a beak-like face, and some sort of shell on its back, a second one joining it from below.

“Whoa...” he breathed and Master Koon stepped up next to him, hands still in his robe’s sleeves.

“Quite spectacular, isn’t it?” he murmured and Rex nodded mutely.

Truthfully, there weren’t any words to describe it. It was beautiful, wondrous, spectacular, awe-inspiring, and everything in between.

A pair of the largest fish he had ever seen swam past, their blue bodies spotted with white and gray and moving side to side in a graceful manner. He couldn’t tear his eyes away.

“What are those?” he asked softly and the Kel Dor chuckled a bit.

“I believe on Terra they’re called Whale Sharks,” he mused, “Unfortunately, we don’t know much more about them than the Terrans do, despite them coming from that planet. They’re gentle creatures, the largest of Terra’s fish still in existence, but their numbers are dwindling at an alarming rate. That is why the owners of this aquarium were contacted by some animal activists for assistance.”

Rex frowned, brows furrowed. “Why are their numbers shrinking, sir? Surely, if was a diet issue, something could be figured out.”

“If only it were a diet issue,” General Fisto’s voice said form behind them and Rex startled, but still, he couldn’t tear his eyes from the graceful whale sharks over head. From the corner of his eye, he saw the Nautolan— sans cloak, but what could he expect from the infamous Kit Fisto— walk down and over to them, easily sliding into place at Master Koon’s side. Like Fox and Wolffe had said, though, as soon as the two were next to each other, Master Fisto had wrapped an arm around the Kel Dor, this time over his shoulders.

“The humans of Terra have a horrible habit of killing off their planet, between polluting, poaching, and deforestation. These large beauties are dwindling because of people hunting them for their fins.”

“Their fins?” Rex questioned and Fisto nodded, scowling.

“They fish them up, cut off all their fins— pectoral, pelvic, dorsal, anal, and caudal— and then toss them back into the sea.”

He felt something twist in his gut. “Still alive?”

Master Koon made a deep and disgruntled noise in the back of his throat as Master Fisto hissed in anger. “Usually, yes,” the Kel Dor rumbled and Rex’s scowl matched the one that Wolffe normally wore. 

“Why?” 

“Money,” Master Fisto stated simply, tresses wriggling angrily. “Money and a disregard for life.”

Rex frowned at that. “Even after all this war?” 

Master Koon hummed a bit. “Terra was not part of the Republic or Separatists, too much work on both ends to even think about bringing them into either, I suppose. Though Senator Feng certainly had their own take on it. But yes, even after all this time.” He sighed, shaking his head. “Not everyone on Terra is the same, but a general disregard for life can be seen in those who are in positions of power. It’s quite... disgruntling.”

“It upsets you so much, sirs?” Rex asked, tilting his head. 

“I’m a Nautolan, Rex,” Master Fisto chuckled. “I care about the seas and aquatic quite a bit.”

Master Koon chuckled as well before gently reaching over and putting a hand on Rex’s shoulder again. “The Jedi are taught to respect and revere all life, no matter the form. We take what we need and leave the rest,” he told him, “But it is a little bit different for the Kel Dor.”

That was certainly an interesting statement. He tilted his head. “What do you mean by that, sir?”

“That reverence for life is taken to another level, almost. The weather on Dorin is very powerful and relatively unpredictable. Buildings on the surface are prepared to withstand violent storms, but it wasn’t always like that,” the Jedi explained as the fish and other animals swam past them. “Dorin is, was, and will most likely always be a harsh planet to live on, until one or both of the black holes that surround it swallow it whole. In the ancient days, before technology, many lives were lost because of dangerous weather phenomena. Life on Dorin is precious because of how harsh had been, and still is. Even now, there are many deaths due to weather and sickness. In our Clans, we all celebrate when life is brought into the world, and as a whole, the Kel Dor abhor senseless killings, especially of innocent creatures.”

Rex tilted his head again, mulling over the Kel Dor’s words before he nodded. “I think I understand,” he said, “Well, the respecting life part and how it’s important, that is.” He blinked then, glancing over. “Is that part of why you keep adopting my brothers and other children? Because of your people's stance on life?”

Master Koon chuckled again at that. “Perhaps that is part of it,” he mused. “It is very difficult for a Kel Dor to bear two or more children, and we admittedly do not know why. Our healers suspect that it is simply a byproduct of how we evolved, though there is a legend. The premise is about how the first child born to the Kel Dor people took part of their parents' Life Spirits in order to be born, we say that unless the bearer has an exceptionally strong life-force, the soul of a child knows that it’s not their time to come into the world should that bearer already be missing part of their Life Spirit.” 

He shook his head, quite possibly smiling from under his mask. “It is an old story, but many believe in it.”

“Do you, Sir?” Rex asked and the Jedi shrugged a bit.

“My sister bore three, which was quite a shock. She was not always in the best of health, and for the longest time Sha was her only child. A part of me is skeptical over the story because of it,” he said calmly but hummed. “Though I have yet to bear any children myself. Perhaps when I return to Dorin to visit my sister and her children that remain with her, I shall ask if she felt any shift in the Spirits when Kepp or Mir were born.” 

Rex felt heat crawl up his cheeks for a moment. “I— sir? You can bear children?” 

Master Fisto laughed and Master Koon looked amused enough, so Rex wasn’t exactly worried about having said anything offensive.

“All Kel Dor can both bear and sire children,” Master Koon said simply. “When the new Code is instated, I will return to Dorin to see about how much of a toll the war took on my body before anything else happens, however.”

“Huh.” Rex tilted his head back, gazing up at the fish again. “Is that why you’re so comfortable with...” he made a hand motion. “The _vode_ who come to you with questions? Because the gender divide is... less obvious?”

“In part yes, though there is much more I can explain at a later date,” came the response as voices echoed down the hall. Rex turned, raising a hand to Wise, Fordo, and Pip as the three of them walked in. Pip’s eyes lit up ad they gazed at the large tank in front of them and Rex caught the fond look that Fordo gave one of his two second-in-commands. Wise’s smile was just as bright as she loped down the steps, Fordo and Pip after her.

“Plo- _Buir,_ this is where you vanished to,” she said, and Rex recognized the glint in her eyes— Fives and Echo had that same look more often than not. “Thought you and Master Kit had gone off to a supply closet somewhere.”

That had Master Fisto roaring with laughter as Fordo and Pip smacked their sister on the back of the head and Plo turned, giving Rex a long-suffering look and Rex just held his hands up.

“Can’t help you there, sir,” he said with a grin as the rest of their group started to join them. “Wise’s name comes from Wisecrack after all.”

“No it doesn’t, don’t give her that much power, kid!” 

“Hah! No, he’s right Fordo!" _  
_

"Wise, I _named_ you, I would know if it was." _  
_

**Author's Note:**

> I ended up sorta basing this one off of the Atlanta Aquarium that I visited a while ago on a band trip. It’s honestly amazing there. And so obviously uhhh Earth animals. Labeled as “Terra’ 
> 
> Also uhhhhhhh I love the M10 and they all deserve the world. The M10 will get some more writing time later 👀
> 
> Come bother me on my Writing Tumblr [here](https://penguinkiwi-writes.tumblr.com/) or on my main blog [here](https://penguinkiwi.tumblr.com/)


End file.
